A National Geographic article I recently read talked about the killing fields as one of the two must-see locations in Cambodia. (The other is Angknor Wat.) The author says that tourism to these sites of horrific violence has been greatly beneficial to the local economy, to beggars and guides alike. He makes a good case for the source of income for Cambodians, but others question the ethics of profiting off of what they call "genocide tourism."
One tourist of genocide sites, a photographer, mourns the loss of "authenticity" in memorials, saying that such places are becoming more and more "Disneyfied." Others, however, argue that such commercial tourism takes away from the respect with with these sites should be approached.
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